What Christ Did for Women: (This Includes You, Gentlemen)

By Robyn Power Georges

In spite of women tele-evangelists now on satellite TV, the average woman in the average Christian Church is still unsure of her identity in Christ. She hears statements like, God will use a woman in leadership if there is no man to do the job and feels like a second class citizen. Is Gods preference in leadership really based on sexual gender? Is a woman really inferior in Gods eyes? Is she really forbidden to teach and preach before men just because she is a woman? What Christ Did For Women (This Includes You, Gentlemen) takes a provocative, but soundly scriptural look at the extent of Christs deliverance of women. This book examines the full personhood of woman that Christ and His Apostles fought for, but which is still largely unseen even in the Church that claims His leadership.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jan 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781453595015

Robyn Power Georges

Author Robyn Power Georges shines a searching spotlight into the original languages to produce a book with life-changing potential. It needs to be read by every woman and man who wants to serve God in all honesty, without attempting to shackle Him with personal and cultural bias. When Robyn Power was a toddler, her intuitive mother once remarked to her father, “She is different. She will do things that no one in our family has ever done.” Her mother was so right. Robyn’s working life has involved directing her own ballet schools, television dancer, producing children’s TV ballets, catwalk model, airline stewardess, producer/host of her own TV programmes, and TV news reporter in her native Queensland, Australia. She was invited into British television by TV magnate, Lord Edward Willis, but Robyn preferred her beloved homeland. Though raised in a nominal Christian home, Robyn wandered into Eastern religions and the occult. However God led her full circle and on May 9, 1974 she surrendered her life to Christ. She was invited to join the prestigious international ministry Haggai Institute for Advanced Leadership Training, and that began almost 30 years of leadership ministry including national administration, writing, lecturing, teaching God’s word, preaching, singing and evangelising. After travelling the world Robyn is acutely conscious of the suppression of women, even in the Christian Church, and that awareness birthed the writing of this book. Robyn’s prayer is that What Christ Did For Women (This Includes You, Gentlemen) will release both men and women to work freely, shoulder to shoulder, using their God-given gifts.

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Copyright © 2011 by Robyn Power Georges.

Library of Congress Control Number:        2010914784

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Unless otherwise stated,

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,

1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Italics in the New American Standard Bible text indicate words which are not

found in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek but implied by it.

Robyn Power Georges may be contacted by Email: [e-mail]

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Who Is Robyn Power Georges?

Testimonials from Women Around the World

Introduction

Prelude to Chapter 1

The Leadership Appointment

Paradise Lost

Eve Betrayed

Woman Degraded

Woman Vindicated

Wanted—God’s Men

A Further Look At The Woman’s Role

Every Woman’s Potential

Divorce

Moses’ Divorce Decree Examined

Polygamy

False Freedom

Female Apostleship

SHE or HE

Women—Keep Quiet! Part 1

Women—Keep Quiet! Part 2

Female Dilemma

What Christ Did For Women (This Includes You, Gentlemen)

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

My Christian life has been greatly blessed and enriched by the presence and support of five outstanding men. This book reflects their combined influence.

Firstly, the late Rev. Dr. Reginald Jarrott, who led me to the Lord on May 9, 1974. An outstanding theologian and one of Australia’s best loved evangelists, this man took fatherly pride in my quick growth in the Scriptures and early call to leadership ministry. He was delighted whenever we had the opportunity to share the same speaking platform. This first class man of God fully recognized what Christ did for women.

Secondly, Rev. Dr. John Edmund Haggai, founder and president of the prestigious international ministry Haggai Institute for Advanced Leadership Training into which the Lord called me for service. This distinguished world Christian statesman, theologian of note, and powerful evangelist was my leader, ministry associate and mentor for almost two decades, and remains one of my closest friends. This first class man of God fully recognizes what Christ did for women.

Thirdly, the late Rev. Frank Andrews, my first pastor who was like a second father to me (I lost my dad at 15-years-of-age). This excellent theologian’s uncompromising preaching of God’s word was what drew me to his church. His firm yet compassionate leadership engendered love and respect from all who knew him. Before the congregation, he set me apart with his blessing for the leadership role God had called me to. This first class man of God fully recognized what Christ did for women.

Fourthly, the late Rev. Dr. Wadia (Dad) Haggai, father of Dr. John Haggai. At 15-years-of-age he was a refugee from Syria to the United States, and he became one of the most loved and respected preachers of his time in America. His knowledge and memory of God’s word were absolutely phenomenal. He only stood about 170cms. (5ft.7ins) but he was a giant of a man. This first class man of God fully recognized what Christ did for women.

Fifthly, God’s special gift to me—my husband Christian Yves Georges. After the Lord, he is my rock and my best friend. I thank the Lord constantly for His grace in giving me such a man. He is my great supporter and encourager. He is my strong leader who has my admiration and respect as well as my love. The Lord called me to the role of communicator, and my husband’s commitment to that is unshakeable. This first class man of God fully recognizes what Christ did for women.

I have a wide circle of great women friends whom I value most highly, but in writing about what Christ did for women I wanted to acknowledge the great men who have helped shape my life. Men who were and are secure in their own identity in God, and for whom women in leadership are no threat. These are big men. If they can get it right, what’s stopping those who are still arguing about it?

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my mother, Cherie Power, who went home to the Lord in August 2000, aged 93. In my childhood and teen years she instilled concepts in me that took firm root in my soul.

My early childhood was spent in a seaside suburb where a long pier jutted out into the water. I remember my mother saying to me, If all your friends decided to run to the end of the pier, jump off and drown themselves… would you? She followed up with the injunction, You have your own mind. Use it. Thanks to my mother, peer pressure was never part of my life.

She constantly reinforced in me the belief, You can do anything you put your mind to. And she would say to me, Anyone can be a spectator. Don’t be a spectator in life—be a performer. This developed a strong awareness of my own individuality and the ability to achieve whatever I set out to do.

Physically I shot up fast and was much taller than friends of the same age. One day my mother drew my attention to a picture of a top model of the day who was extremely tall. She pointed out how she stood tall, straight and beautiful, and encouraged me to be the same… tall, straight and beautiful instead of slouching down trying to look shorter. One of the greatest things she did for me was to put me to ballet training at 12-years-of-age. Ten years later I was gliding tall and straight along model catwalks (not jerking & bumping along as they do now).

Using a saying from her grandmother she also taught me about setting high standards, and never being satisfied with the mediocre. She would say, Reach for the stars, and you’ll never get a handful of mud.

I have had a rich and varied life, including my share of sufferings, and through it all I can see the influence of a wise mother. Sadly, she developed dementia in her later years, but I treasure her memory.

She taught me to think and examine. That’s why this book is dedicated to her.

Who Is Robyn Power Georges?

Robyn Georges was thrust into leadership at an early age. At 17 she was directing her own dance schools, plus dancing and producing monthly children’s ballets for ABC-TV in Brisbane, Australia. This led her to a full time television career producing and hosting her own programs, news reporting and current affairs. In 1969 Robyn was named Australia’s most outstanding female TV talent by British television magnate, Lord Edward Willis, who invited her to enter the London TV scene, but she chose to remain in Australia.

Circumstances introduced her to the late Rev. Dr. Reginald Jarrott, and on May 9, 1974 he led her to the Lord Jesus Christ, the day before Rev. Dr. John Haggai arrived in Brisbane to lead a 2-week evangelistic crusade organized by Dr. Jarrott. Robyn attended almost every meeting of the crusade, and two months later was invited to join Haggai Institute for Advanced Leadership Training International.

Eighteen months later she became National Co-ordinator for the H.I. ministry in Australia, speaking and writing for the ministry, managing its operations and evangelizing. It is estimated that over 400 people responded to God’s call to salvation through her.

In 1977 Robyn became Assistant Dean of Women for Third World Women Leaders Training at the H.I. headquarters in Singapore, and a member of the international faculty lecturing on communication for evangelism, writing and leadership principles. In 1981 she became Dean of women’s training for three years. After 1986 she gave her time mainly to writing and lecturing for Haggai Institute until her retirement from staff in 1992, when a major illness set her aside from

much active ministry.

Her mother’s advancing years gradually brought Robyn to the role of full time carer. In August 2000, at 93-years-of-age, her mum went home to the Lord, and six days later, at 60-years-of-age, Robyn married her long-time friend Chris Georges.

Now, after bringing her through many sufferings, including breast cancer, God is putting her to work again.

Testimonials from Women Around the World

Mere words cannot describe my gratitude for the great effect you had upon my life. You gave me the initiative to study psychology. God opened His doors and showed me that I was capable of far greater things than I had ever accomplished.

Dr. Bassima Sidhom—Egypt

Lecturer in Psychology

My heart is brimming with gratitude for the encouragement, confidence and care that you’ve expressed to me. I not only see my value as a person, but also as a writer.

Miss Vanitha Nadaraj—Malaysia

YWAM Worker/Writer

For all the good things that are happening in my life, and in the lives of those with whom I deal, I thank you personally, because three-quarters of my life is using what you taught us. I am a changed person, a new communicator.

Mrs Ada Mwendamseke—Tanzania

Publisher

I never felt the necessity to speak in public. I always refused because of my inadequacy. But with your teaching and counselling I realised that all of us have the potential to speak. You gave me that confidence; you are an example.

Mrs Hortencia de Henzler—Peru

Literature Supervisor

Not only did I learn from your booklet, ‘Put It On Paper’, and from your lectures in communication, but also from the high standard you set for us. This was not intimidating, but encouraging. Thank you, also, for the loving way you guided us out of error.

Mrs Michelle Walker—South Africa

Lay Minister

Robyn Power has been my friend and mentor for thirty-five years. She is insightful to the potential of others and brings out the best in them. She changed my life when she invited me to lecture at the very first Haggai Institute Women Leaders Training Sessions in 1977. I remained a lecturer for twenty nine years. It was a joy to serve the Lord in this way and help change the lives of women as Robyn changed mine. Now through her writing she continues to influence and touch lives, helping women to reach their full potential as they face life with renewed courage and faith as she has done.

Mrs Audrey Bowie—Australia

International Conference Speaker

Author of God’s Woman and For His Glory

Introduction

This book has been a long time in the making, but it’s as relevant now as when I began in ministry.

My husband and I are presently living in France, though planning to return to our beloved Australia shortly. Here in France evangelical churches are few and far between, but we found one, and I soon discovered that women played no part in its services. When I queried one of the women about this out came the old platitude, God will use a woman if there is no man to do the job.

I asked the same question of the woman who was my interpreter. She had been in the church 37 years, her American parents had founded it, and her answer was a slight shrug of the shoulders and the words, I don’t know.

These women seemed quite content with their second class status, though the first one was a bit defensive, as if my questioning was arousing something she didn’t want aroused.

By contrast, we found an English Anglican church where the senior pastor was an ordained woman, and very popular with her congregation. All the men obviously enjoyed her leadership, including her husband. She was the one God had called and that was okay by them. Bravo.

I am not a feminist, but I deplore the idea of God’s work being deployed on the basis of sexual gender rather than gifting and calling. It is not scriptural.

But this book is not just about women in leadership ministry. This book is about the total personhood that the blessed Lord Jesus Christ established for His created woman, if only men and women would open their eyes to see it.

There are women all across this planet who are ignorant of what Jesus Christ did for them, and sadly, there are even many Christian women whose lives and attitudes reflect only a superficial awareness of what He achieved for them.

Of course there are men right across this planet totally ignorant of the freedom and equality that rightfully belong to women, and sad to say, that lack of understanding is found in many Christian men still today.

Jesus Christ honored women in an incredible way, but down through the centuries women have largely failed to see it, and have therefore largely failed to reach the full potential of their womanhood.

Men, also, have largely failed to see it, and have perpetrated crimes of injustice against women that a just God cannot overlook and remain faithful to His own righteousness.

But this book is not written to set men and women against each other. It is my prayer that What Christ Did For Women (This Includes You, Gentlemen) will result in new sight of the Lord Jesus for both women and men. Seeing Him beyond the limits of conditioned thinking… seeing His desire for His sons and daughters to work freely and equally, shoulder to shoulder, in love and respect for each other, for the furtherance of His kingdom on earth.

Prelude to Chapter 1

Dear Reader, this book is a deep, intense journey. I have probed Scripture on areas to do with women not generally tackled. But the book is unusual in that it is also a book for men in which they will not only be challenged regarding Christ and woman, but will also see their own male identity in God in greater depth.

This is not a light read. Chapter 1, The Leadership Appointment is an in-depth study but it lays the groundwork, along with the next two chapters, for all that follows.

This is serious and exciting stuff for women who want to discover the extent of their rich personhood in Christ, and their total liberty to be and to do whatever God puts in their hearts.

In this study the Christ’s attitude to His woman creation, and his freeing and honoring of women, become crystal clear. The great apostle Paul, often seen as a male chauvinist, steps forward as the champion of women that he actually was, like his Divine Master.

When you finally close the back cover of this book, I don’t think you will be leaping about and praising God, though there’s nothing amiss with that. Rather, I expect that you will sit quietly, deeply thoughtful and aware of just who you are in Christ.

Whether you be woman or man, I know you will be profoundly grateful for the special and privileged creature you are in Christ, and that the same is true of every Christian woman and man in the sight of Father God.

May the Holy Spirit travel with you on your journey through this book.

Chapter 1

The Leadership Appointment

To begin our discovery of what Christ did for women we must first do some background work. Let’s go back to the first book of the Bible—Genesis—and the account of Adam and Eve. If you query whether Adam and Eve were real people, let me tell you that the human race can be traced right back to them. We don’t have time to go into that right now, so let me simply assure you they were living, breathing human beings.

Let’s read Genesis 2, verses 7 to 9, then verse 15 to the end of the chapter.

7. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

8. And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

9. And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

16. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

17. but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.

18. Then the Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.

19. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the Field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

20. And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

21. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.

22. And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

23. And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because she was taken out of Man."

24. For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

25. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Hebrew word for man . . . human being of the male sex… is adam; it is also a name when spelled with a capital A. So in Genesis, Adam was this particular living creature’s name, meaning man. He was the first of the living creatures created by God to dwell in Eden. (verses 18-20)

Like the other living creatures (except Eve) he was made directly from the earth, and God literally breathed life into him. But Adam was not like the other living creatures; he was unique.

I’ve been queried on my concept of the creatures being made from the earth as were Adam and Eve. Since Eve was made from Adam she was also made from the earth, indirectly.

It has been suggested to me that verse 19 in chapter 2 which says, And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky… . does not necessarily mean they were literally made out of the earth, the thought being that such a concept would detract from Adam’s uniqueness.

Firstly, Adam’s uniqueness does not reside simply in what his physical body was made from. Secondly, I might agree that the terms out of the ground and of dust from the ground could possibly signify something different, except for the fact that animal bodies contain exactly the same earth elements as the human body.

My local vet explained that while the chemicals may differ in arrangement from species to species, they are the same chemicals. Even all the systems of animal bodies… the heart and vascular system, the alimentary system, the elimination system, etc. are the same in principle, though they may differ in structure and chemical organization from species to species.

The brains of animals vary in structure and complexity from the human brain, but are made of the same substances. The corpse of an animal breaks down in the same way as a human corpse. He went on to explain that intelligent animals experience the same emotions as humans… love, hate, fear, loneliness, anger, frustration, joy, grief, etc., even to depression.

He said, The only difference, we’re told, is that they don’t have a spirit or soul, whatever you like to call it. He was obviously not convinced of that any more than I am, since emotion is the language of the soul. You cannot experience emotion without a soul and vice versa, and where there is soul there has to be spirit. They are two sides of the one coin.

So, if animal and bird bodies are made of the same earth substances as the human body, then it logically follows that the expression out of the ground means the same as of dust from the ground.

And if many, if not most animals experience human-type emotions, it follows that Adam’s uniqueness must lie in much more than just what he was created from. I don’t believe his uniqueness even stemmed from the fact of God breathing life into him, because as you read the references to breath in Scripture you become aware that until God breathed life into all the living aspects of His creation, there was no life.

I have no doubt that God breathed life into all the living creatures as He did to Adam, though it’s not recorded in words.

There is a story in the Muslim Qu’ran which actually comes from one of the Apocrypha gospels. It tells about Jesus walking along the street and finding children modeling birds from wet clay. The children set the wet clay birds in the sun to dry. The story tells how Jesus picked up a clay bird, breathed on it, and it came to life and flew.

To my knowledge there is no documented evidence for that particular account, but it’s interesting to note the theme of divine breath giving life to a creature fashioned from the ground. I wish our Muslim brothers and sisters would stop and ask themselves how Jesus could possess divine, life-giving breath if He is not part of the divine Godhead.

So to my mind, Adam’s uniqueness did not lie in the fact that he was made from the earth, or that God breathed life into him, but in the fact that he was made an intellectual being like his Creator. He was made a creative being like his Creator, and I’m not referring to reproduction of his kind.

He was a being of language like his Creator… progressive, creative language. He was made to personally communicate with his Creator. In short, he was made just like his Creator… in his Creator’s image. That was Adam’s uniqueness, and that uniqueness gave him superiority over the other creatures, and automatic leadership in Eden.

Once the man was ensconced in the beautiful land of Eden, which name means delight, God presented all the other living creatures to Adam for naming, except Eve at this point. Whatever Adam called any creature, that was its name.

At this point we need to clearly see the sequence of events in this particular part of creation. Reading the Genesis 1 account, then the chapter 2 account can be confusing and seem contradictory. Let’s read Genesis 1: 25-31.

25. And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26. Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’.

27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28. And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’.

29. Then God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

30. and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food’; and it was so.

31. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the

sixth day.

We read on and find the first four verses of chapter 2 summing up the completion of creation, then we are thrown into confusion. Verse 5 tells us there was no vegetation on the earth because God had not yet set up an irrigation system, and furthermore, there was no human being to look after the ground.

Verse 7 adds to the confusion by telling us that after God had created a misting system to water the earth for vegetal growth, He then formed a man from the earth and breathed life into him. We not only thought it was done and finished, we thought there were already two of these humans.

We get to verse 18 and find God determining to make a helper for this lonely human being, and the next verse throws us into more confusion. It indicates that God makes all these living creatures and brings them to Adam to name, but chapter 1 clearly states that all these creatures were made before the two humans.

Confusion and contradiction. No—not at all, just the simple fact that the Hebrews had a strange way of telling stories back to front. They would give a general account of happenings first, then go back and fill in the details. Let’s take a look.

First of all, the other living creatures were made before the humans as in verses 24 & 25 of chapter 1. Now let’s go to that apparently contradictory verse 19 in chapter 2. It reads:

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

In the Hebrew language there is no past perfect, or pluperfect tense as in English. The word formed is past perfect tense and can be understood as an action completed at that time. But in Hebrew there is no past perfect tense, so a more accurate translation of this Hebrew verb is had formed indicating an earlier activity of God.

Now let’s read that verse again using the better translation. "And out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and had brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man had called a living creature, that was its name".

Perfect harmony with chapter 1. My purpose for clarifying this is more than just a theology lesson. There is an important observation to be made: God could have named the creatures Himself and told Adam each species’ name. Instead He delegated this authority to Adam.

Genesis 2:19 says, and whatever the man (had) called a living creature, that was its name. Adam’s word on the matter was final.

In this second chapter of the Bible we see a classic example of delegation, and a leadership principle. The principle is this: when you delegate authority you automatically delegate leadership. The two cannot be separated.

Along with giving Adam leadership authority, God also gave him leadership responsibility—look at verse 15 of chapter 2. Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

The word translated keep means more than just keep it in good condition. It means keep it in the sense of guard, protect, attend to. Adam had been given responsibility for the care of the land of Eden, and had been clearly given authority over the other living creatures. He had obviously been appointed to leadership, and Eve had not yet entered the scene.

There are some of my Christian brothers who see Adam and Eve as having joint authority and responsibility and therefore joint leadership because of verse 28 in chapter 1. I’ll come back to that in a moment, but first let us look at Eve’s entry into Eden.

Genesis 1 verse 27 says, And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The Bible in its original form is the inspired word of God written by the Holy Spirit through men, so there are no accidental words. When you look at this verse you could wonder why it wasn’t simply written, And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female.

Why say, in the image of God He created him and then in the separate following clause say, male and female He created them?

Why indeed—unless there is a time gap between the two.

Mindful of the Hebrew habit of writing the general account and then filling in the details, let’s go to chapter 2. We’ve now established that the other living creatures were created before Adam, and that God had brought them to the man for naming. Now let’s read verse 20, remembering the absence of the past perfect tense in the Hebrew.

And the man had given names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam (the man) there was not found a helper suitable for him.

The word suitable is literally translated corresponding to. After naming all the other creatures, the man had not found a helper corresponding to him, to name. That final clause in verse 27 of the previous chapter has still not yet come about… male and female He created them.

Now let’s read verses 21-23 in chapter 2 as the Hebrews would have recorded it.

21. So the Lord God (had) caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he (had) slept; then He (God) (had taken) one of his ribs, and (had) closed up the flesh at that place.

22. And the Lord God